Original artwork description:

Illusions 2 by Igor Galan is a surreal, multilayered oil painting drawn directly from the artist’s own dream reflections. Created in 2017 and measuring 190 by 150 cm, this work delves deep into personal and collective symbolism to build a dramatic, emotionally resonant narrative across its tall vertical canvas.

At the top, a woman in white seems to ascend from darkness toward light, smiling enigmatically, her outstretched arms evoking liberation or emergence. Below her, embedded in the cascading folds of her dress, are painted faces and bodies – most notably two bearded men with intense gazes, dressed in what appear to be religious garbs. They serve as guardians, judges, or perhaps ghosts of inherited belief.

Further down, another woman appears trapped in anguish, clutching her face in a moment of existential despair. Yet the painting’s right side – drenched in electrifying pinks and reds – offers a contrasting, contemplative counterpoint: the quiet visage of another woman, partly submerged in magenta, watching silently from within the chaos.

The dual presence of women – one open and ascending, the other hidden and introspective – creates a dialogue of external illusion and internal truth. Galan’s combination of classical portraiture and wild abstraction gives the piece both historical gravitas and contemporary urgency.

This painting will resonate with collectors who are drawn to emotionally complex, symbolically rich compositions that explore the blurred boundary between vision and reality.

Materials used:

Oil

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